Brown University's story

[MUSIC PLAYING]
MICHAEL PICKETT: Google is paying attention to
universities.
They have a very large commitment to going out and
helping universities be successful.
JOHN SPADARO: The students led us down this Google path.
RAHUL: I'd been pushing for Gmail since my freshman year.
And I was so glad to see it actually happen.
MICHAEL PICKETT: We had a lot of faculty now saying, gee,
our students are using Gmail.
They're also using Google Docs.
They're using the collaboration tools, and we
want to, too.
Can we go?
TERRI-LYNN THAYER: I really sense an excitement building
on the campus about getting onto the Google Apps.
SUMITHA: Google has been working very hard to make this
transformation happen.
MICHAEL PICKETT: Google is responsive when we say, you
know, this would make sense for universities.
And people actually listen.
And you see things happen on a much more rapid scale.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
JOHN SPADARO: We chose Google Apps primarily because of
functionality: the docs, the sites, the chat.
MALE SPEAKER: You know, you can't neglect the fact that we
signed a $0 contract.
It's awfully nice to be able to save money and still
provide excellent functionality and
excellent IT service.
KEITH: Sharing documents, calendaring is
important for me.
Conversations are important to me.
Labels are important to me.
I pretty much run the gamut.
MICHAEL PICKETT: We were looking for something that
would provide us a good value for our investment, but also
something that would bring everybody together on a common
set of tools.
TANYA: I've used Google Docs a lot, because a lot of times,
I'm working on projects with other people.
It's easier than sending an attachment and then editing it
and sending it back.
CHARAS: Google Docs means I can do my papers anywhere I
want to without carrying around a thumb drive.
MALE SPEAKER: We run around a lot to meetings, and to have a
video chat session and be able to actually sit at your desk
and participate in a meeting, we think that's going to be
used a lot.
TERRI-LYNN THAYER: The Labs feature adds a real fun
element to the product set.
JOHN SPADARO: Some of the tools just work better once
you make that switchover.
SUMITHA: I've been using Gmail for a while now, and it's just
a way of life.
KEITH: I bought in.
I'm all Google all the time right now.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MICHAEL PICKETT: We were thinking about what it would
take to get our students onto a platform that they would be
able to do some innovative things.
JOHN SPADARO: Once people use it and see it and then start
seeing some of the fun stuff, they get
won over pretty quickly.
KEITH: Seamless integration, one client all across the
universe, we lookin' good.
ROBIN: I think it's just more high tech.
MIKE: I've used my computer more.
TERRI-LYNN THAYER: The speed of innovation from Google is
something that we could not possibly match on our own.
KEITH: It's a lot of energy going on.
Everybody's excited about it.
It feels like Christmas to me.
JOHN SPADARO: Those collaboration tools are the
pieces that we're going to find faculty using.
Once we're all in the same domain, it's going to really--
it's going to be a huge win.
MICHAEL PICKETT: We believe that Google Apps was a way
that we could connect our faculty with our students, one
of the other key things that distinguishes Brown, and
perhaps make a bigger difference around the world
and on campus.
RAHUL: I have four years to go at Brown, and they'll
hopefully be full of productivity, thanks to Gmail.